Drama Digest
Once upon a time, lived a young emperor. He belonged to an esteemed dynasty and his empire flourished with happiness and prosperity. His people often praised their young monarch, who took such good care of them.
However, the reigns of the kingdom lay in the hands of the Queen Mother, who was extremely wise and efficient and was trying to mould her young son into a capable ruler. The emperor loved the opera, but his mother had banned it in the royal court since she wanted him to focus on his studies.
Life was very tough for the poor young boy. He couldn’t go anywhere he wanted, eat anything he wanted or do anything he wanted. He had to obey his mother all the time, even if that made him unhappy. To top his misery, his uncle criticized him endlessly and often tried to claim the throne for himself.
One day, he discovers a hidden passageway in his palace that leads directly to an opera house. Hardly able to believe his luck, he keeps his identity hidden and implores the fierce, masculine attired owner to take him in, who agrees. United with the love of his life, at last, the young emperor embarks on a journey of self-discovery and adventure.
The Feel Good Part
Based on the juxtaposition of the royal duties and the humble love for opera of a young emperor, who just wants to be a normal 17-year-old and fool around, the series is a multi-tiered cake of comedy and light-hearted moments which punches doses after doses of serotonin through the viewers.
In-Depth Analysis
When you mix a position of immense duty and power, a devastating love for the arts, and a 17-year-old, peace will never be an option. Satirical and slapstick, De Yun Theatre is a wonderful series based on a relatively simple concept, but it makes the most of that to create an engaging coming of age story.
The show is a series of ironies. The emperor feels like a slave, a queen tries to ban opera in her court but fails, and the emperor finds a theatre group and is dashed into the lowest possible position, meant for menial tasks and jobs that might endanger his life.
To top that, the theatre is a jumble of idiots working together: a writer who cannot compose a decent story for the life of him, a cook who was an assassin, a fortune-teller whose talismans work the wrong way. All of them have sworn to back each other through thick and thin, but the moment things get sour, they depart on their separate ways.
The dialogues and jokes have been written with sheer genius. The characters say words randomly, but they always manage to rhyme together, having an almost limerick quality. Homophones are scattered throughout, creating the most hilarious scenarios and misunderstandings.
The characters are splendid. They each have their own story. Despite their best efforts, their problems are solved through sheer luck. The episodes have a touch of modernity and a lesson to impart, amidst the belly-aching laughter
The Disappointing Factor
The only thing disappointing about this series is the bad English subtitles at the time of its airing which resulted in a small audience.
Star Power
The cast is excellent. Victor Qin, Zhao Xiao Tang, Meng He Tang, Zhang Hao Yue, Cao He Yang, Luan Yun Ping and Jiang Shi Meng give their best performances in this series. It is hard to imagine the show without either of them.
Overall Opinion
I will end this with a single sentence: even with the bad English subtitles, give the series a watch. It is one of the funniest shows of this year and given the current climate, we all need laughter and joy.
